Strap in readers – we’re going to take another trip 65 Million years in the past as we visit World of Dinosaurs at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire!
It’s a great time to be a fan – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World Evolution are here, and the 25th Anniversary of Jurassic Park is in full swing. With so much awesome stuff going on – it can be hard to find activities to fill the void that the long waits between these projects will no doubt leave. We’ve done our best to recommend some of the most fun you dinosaur fans can have – from large-scale attractions like Dinos In the Wild, to smaller-scale, more local attractions like Museums.
Today, however, we are going to look at something completely different. Something a lot closer to that original film – and something which is truly special. Set in a patch of woodland at Paradise Wildlife Park, World of Dinosaurs truly is a trip to the prehistoric park you have always dreamed of. Our adventure at World of Dinosaurs starts with some incredibly iconic gates – albeit it re-branded to avoid the obvious breaches of copyright. Walking into some familiar soundtracks from our favourite films, World of Dinosaurs has been painstakingly assembled by a group of creators who are fans of one of Hollywood’s most iconic blockbusters. From the music playing in the environment to the aesthetics decorating the entry way and even the signage – everything within the park feels distinctly ‘Jurassic Park’ – even if it isn’t technically Jurassic Park.
As we venture into the woodland itself, we are reminded again of one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters – as we are greeted by the iconic sights of dinosaurs like Dilophosaurus, Velociraptor and Spinosaurus. I can’t help but imagine that whoever masterminded this attraction was a massive fan of the films – bringing to fellow fans every single dinosaur that you could possibly imagine. Every single dinosaur is re-imagined in pure, animatronic glory here – from the small but heavy-headed Pachycephalosaurus, to the more adorable baby Triceratops. The dinosaurs here are incredibly well crafted – with rugged, realistic textures, beautiful paintwork and real, smooth-feeling animatronic movement. Everything here feels sharp and slick – nice and very much to the same level of attractions at places such as Universal Studios. It’s clear no corners have been cut here.
As we delve deeper into the attraction, we get a couple of nice surprises as well – namely Baryonyx and Carnotaurus, two of the big dinosaurs in the limelight for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It was super cool getting to see this brand-new dinosaur in person – and Carnotaurus was certainly one of the best animatronics on location. We also got a plethora of additional dinosaurs such as the Plesiosaur and Iguanodon – dinosaurs which added a unique distinction to the attraction. We also had our old icons – including the T-Rex, with a rugged Jeep like JP’s original Wrangler placed in front of it for prime photo opportunities. It was fantastic seeing a wonderful photo opportunity – and another one which certainly drew inspiration from this Podcast’s namesake.
Overall, if you are local, World of Dinosaurs is worth a visit. The animatronics are well done, the thematic set pieces are immersive, and it’s a nice walk back in time for a couple of hours. The whole time we were there this attraction was popular – so it was fun getting to see it being so well received. Dinosaurs are truly back in the front of people’s minds across the planet (As if they ever stopped), so it is wonderful seeing so many ace attractions popping up. As a side note – I’d like to thank Steve Hurrell from Jurassic Unicast, as it was him who first recommended this awesome attraction!
Learn more about World of Dinosaurs: https://www.pwpark.com/whats-on/events/world-of-dinosaurs
Article written by:
Tom Fishenden